1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to merchandise display hooks that support items of merchandise for review by potential customers. These display hooks are designed to be cantilevered from a support structure such as a display board or a display rack. More particularly, the present invention relates to such display hooks that either prevent the rapid removal of items of merchandise from the display hooks or prevent removal of items of merchandise while the display hook is locked. The invention also relates to a display hook that may be locked to the support structure to prevent the removal of the display hook from the support structure while also preventing the removal of merchandise from the hook or preventing the rapid removal of the merchandise from the hook.
2. Background Information
Items of merchandise are commonly displayed for sale on long protruding rods supported from a support structure in the nature of a peg board, a slat board, or a wire rack. These protruding rods are commonly referred to in the art as display hooks, peg board hooks, or slat board hooks. Similar rods may also protrude from a wire display rack for the same purpose. Usually, the items of merchandise are relatively small but expensive, such as batteries, small tools, cosmetic products, or health care products. Such merchandise is an easy target for shoplifters because they can rapidly remove all the items from a display hook and leave the store without being detected. Alternately, the shoplifter can remove the entire display hook with the merchandise and leave the store. Therefore, it is desired in the art to provide display hooks that prevent both the removal of the display hooks from the support structure, the rapid removal of items of merchandise from the display hooks, or a combination of both features.